Tag Archives: Training

The following guest post is written by Laurie Berenson. She comes to BJJ from a background of training in Muay Thai. I really like her attitude so I invited her to put pen to paper and share her perspective with us. She is currently studying under black belts William Stevens and Casey Van Brookhoven at Stevens Martial Arts in New Jersey, USA.

When Stephan Kesting asked if I’d consider writing a guest post for grapplearts.com from the beginner’s perspective. I immediately balked at the idea. What could I speak to as a white belt? Not much! But I do know that one of the single biggest things jiu jitsu has taught me so far is to have patience…(more…)

In recent years the X Guard has become one of the bread and butter positions in the open guard repertoire. It’s an incredibly powerful position, both in gi and no gi grappling (click here for an intro to the X Guard).

There are a ton of great techniques, sweeps, and drills that revolve around the X guard, but today I want to share a new drill with you that I recently learned from Clark Gracie in the basement of a friend’s house. (more…)

If we think of the whitebelt as a time of fleshing out the skeleton of the positional hierarchy and learning the mechanics of basic techniques, I would sum up the Bluebelt as a time of experimentation. (more…)

First of all, I want to thank you for creating your instructional apps and having these frequent tips/newsletters. They have really helped me to get started in BJJ. Even though I have been signed up to receive your emails for a while now I have only just begun my training. (more…)

Stephan’s note: today I interview Burton Richardson who has spent decades researching the training methods that make martial arts techniques practical, reliable, and functional. His approach is very applicable to street self defence, but is equally valid for anyone wanting to compete. (more…)

I just watched a really cool documentary called Jiro Dreams of Sushi (available on Netflix, iTunes, etc.). This 2011 film paints a fascinating portrait of Jiro Ono, an 85 year old master chef who’s been making sushi for 75 years.

Jiro – the protagonist – is a single-minded perfectionist workaholic who hates national holidays because they keep him away from his obsession, which is working on creating the perfect sushi experience for his customers. (more…)

This is a multi-component product that focuses on the strategies, tactics, techniques and training methods of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It’s basically a quick start guide for how to get good on the ground as fast as possible. (more…)

In this interview 2 x World No Gi Champion Brandon ‘Wolverine’ Mullins shares his best competition and training advice. The questions come from my newsletter readership, who I polled to see if they had any questions for Brandon, especially about training, competing or holding their own against bigger opponents. Boy, did they ever!

We then sifted and sorted hundreds of emails to pick out the very best questions for him, and this in-depth conversation was the result. Maybe one of my best interviews ever! (more…)

by Stephan Kesting

Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Riberio is ranked the number one fighter in the world under 155 lbs, and has multiple prestigious grappling titles. This interview was originally published in Black Belt Magazine (August 2004). He currently teaches at his academy in New York City.(more…)

Introduction

There are many similarities between the sport of Submission Grappling and the classical Japanese Ju-jutsu systems. Both arts emphasize grappling over striking. Both arts recognize the importance and efficiency of ground-fighting. (more…)

When Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro started talking the drills he uses I paid attention. Shaolin has won the World BJJ Championships 4 times, holds the 140 to 155 lb belt in Shooto, and has a long list of other titles. He is an outstanding competitor in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, submission grappling and mixed martial arts, so he knows how to train effectively and efficiently! (more…)

Most Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission grappling students are male, and in most grappling schools females are the exception, not the rule. My foundation in the martial arts was self-defense oriented, not competition oriented. (more…)

Jason Scully (in the green shirt) is a teacher and competitor with more than 12 years of grappling experience. He is a BJJ brown belt and owns The Grapplers Guide Academy in Central New Jersey and also operates The Grapplers Guide.

An Article by Mark Mullen

Introduction

As I lay gasping on the cold pavement of the Trans Canada Highway, the 18 wheeler that had just plowed me over belching diesel exhaust into my face, my life essence slipping into the next plain of existence, my last thoughts were “Shit!! I never made it to Rio de Janeiro!” (more…)

Stephan’s Note: This article is by Grapplearts correspondent Bryanna Fissori, who has previously contributed a piece about MMA training at John Hackleman’s Pit, the home school of former UFC Champion Chuck Liddell. (more…)